What’s with the Proofreading?
I cannot remember the last time I read a new book devoid of errors — often glaringly bad ones. Have publishing companies quit hiring proofreaders? What is going on?
I’m not the most careful reader in the world, but I constantly spot mistakes. I’m actually a notoriously poor proofreader (especially of my own writing so no kibitzing about any mistakes you see here) so if I can spot the errors even a casual proofreader should be able to do the same.
I’m not talking about self-published or ebooks either. Even massive best sellers like Dan Brown’s Origin have their share of errors. The publishers don’t need to cut corners on big sellers like that.
So, what’s the excuse? Have the shortcuts in texting somehow had an influence on book editing? Are a certain number of mistakes considered acceptable in a book, rather like the FDA’s acceptance of a certain amount of foreign matter in food? Is it simple laziness? Indifference?
Whatever it is, I know one thing it isn’t: you can’t blame this one on millenials.